Introduction

We care for children, and we excel! Inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1960, the department has gone from strength to strength, guided by an inspiring and visionary faculty and enriched by brilliant students and scholars.

We are a dynamic and vibrant Department, recognized as India’s leading academic health center for pediatric specialty and subspecialty healthcare, education, and research. We are a diverse group comprising of academic faculty, clinicians, scientists, researchers, postgraduate and DM trainees, research and doctoral fellows, and technical and administrative staff united in our common goal of improving the health of all newborns, children, and adolescents.

We are amongst the few Departments in the country to have well-developed Pediatric subspecialties of Neonatology, Genetics, Nephrology, Neurology, Pulmonology, Intensive Care, Endocrinology, Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Rheumatology, and Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

Enabling teaching opportunities continues to be our cherished objective. We prepare future leaders in pediatric medicine by offering broad-based training in MD Pediatrics, critical care, and pediatric subspecialties within a variety of ambulatory, emergency, and inpatient settings. Besides MD and PhD programs, the Department offers DM programs in Neonatology, Pediatric Neurology, Pediatric Pulmonology & Intensive Care, Pediatric Nephrology, Genetics, Pediatric Oncology, and Pediatric Endocrinology.

The faculty has been at the forefront of conceptualizing, planning, and implementing clinical and translational research, directly impacting health care and public health. We are a leading department at the Institute in terms of funding for extramural research, hold multiple patents, and have contributed landmark papers across various specialties of Pediatrics. We are credited with the development of a vaccine (Rotavirus), two new diagnostics (cystic fibrosis, celiac disease), and innovations in therapy (low osmolality ORS, zinc for acute diarrhea).

The Department has excelled in developing innovative educational programs for doctors and nurses, including an online educational program and Apps on mobile phones for newborn care. Division of Neonatology developed a multimodal learning resource material on “Care of preterm neonates” for district health facilities by a collaborative effort involving institutions and neonatologists in the country. The Department has taken the lead in spreading quality improvement methodology at AIIMS and initiating an antibiotic stewardship program.

The Department has made outstanding contributions to national and global child health policy and the following public health programs:IMNCI, HBNC, RBSK, JSSK, RMNCH+A, ARI, Diarrhea, HIV, Nutrition, Newborn health, Tuberculosis, Newborn screening, Birth defect surveillance, Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Program, and more recently, for COVID.

The Department has been widely acknowledged for its contributions and is privileged to host the following:

 

WHO Collaborating Centers

• Genetics
• Neonatology

ICMR Advanced Centers

• Newborn Health
• Respiratory Diseases
• Research on Kidney Diseases

Centers of Excellence

• Childhood Neurodevelopmental Disorders
• Rare Diseases, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare